The Hyperbrain Librarian

“[Public Libraries] exist for the betterment of communities.” — Ramiro Salazar, former president of the Public Library Association (Smithsonian Magazine interview Nov. 2021) I’m not the first to write about the “Four-Space Model” of library design. But I don’t think it’s being talked about enough in designing public library environments. It’s becoming clear to leaders in librarianship that “…we will always embrace brand book; we just don’t want it to be our only brand.” (see Casey & Savastinuk, Library 2.0) Designing the library and its offerings around the intersection of inspiration, learning, meeting, and performative spaces can create an inviting and vibrant atmosphere where all are welcome to explore and…

“Somewhere along the line, we confused going to work with building a fort.” —David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto Effectively serving the whole community is something that I think about all the time as a frontline library worker. To me it’s about meeting all patrons, potential and current, where they are. I mean this in both a literal and figurative sense. In Chapter three of Library 2.0, Casey suggests that libraries find out where, in the community, people are getting their needs met. We can make our services available where people already are. In fact, it’s already being done with self-serve library kiosks in unexpected places. Could watching someone make use…